How could she?

-


Andromeda, it seemed, had heard about the not quite chicken eating incident.

And she blamed the Ministry.

Loudly and at length.

Tonks put on the kettle, picked the bread up off the floor, unwrapped it and cut a thick slice, which she buttered, and then made herself a cup of tea. She'd seen her mother loose her temper before but she would never have guessed that she possessed such a graphic and extensive, not to say impressive, repertoire of calumny and innuendo. And she could tell that Dawlish and McLaggan were impressed. To the staccato shattering of glassware, as Andromeda shook with fury, they scuttled sideways around the kitchen and each seized one of Tonks' elbows.

She was congratulating herself on not spilling her tea, despite being portkeyed to Courtroom Ten, and was about to take a bite of her bread and butter when breakfast disappeared. Her fingers stung; as was to be expected when 'Evanesco!' was employed on something one was holding. Behind the low wooden wall that screened the lowest tier of the Wizengamot's seating, Madame Umbridge was waving a fat, admonitory finger at her and Tonks, briefly, considered fainting. (Dammit she'd just got out of Saint Mungo's). Or, alternatively, leaping forward and ripping the old bag's head off. It was just a pity that more than carpentry protected the magical judiciary.

'Sit down,' said Umbridge.

Tonks stared at Scrimgour, sitting, along with Fudge, to Umbridge's right. He refused to look back. Fuck it, thought Tonks. She was an Auror. She was not, as far as she knew, a defendant and Umbridge's instruction was an insult to the entire Aurory. The chains on the chair clanked. Tonks looked at them; when the chains had quieted, she sat down.

'Now Auror Tonks, we will need you to clarify a couple of matters for us in the matter of Apprentice Auror Potter's accusations regarding the death of Severus Snape,' proclaimed Umbridge. 'Do you understand?'

'No.'

'Mr. Potter has accused the Ministry of Magic, specifically the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, of murder. Obviously, such accusations are not consistent with his position as an employee of that Department.'

'I see,' said Tonks. Umbridge was attempting to use her own wrongdoing to get Potter dismissed

'Good.' Umbridge shuffled through the stack papers in front of her. 'Mr. Potter claims that he owed Snape a life-debt. Can you tell us why he should think that?'

'Because it's true?'

Umbridge looked up, her eyes calculating. 'Very well, Ms. Tonks, perhaps you can tell us why Snape was brought in to the Ministry?'

'Certainly. You had him arrested.'

Umbridge stilled. 'Administer the Veritaserum.'

'Pardon?'

'Veritaserum. While, naturally, we have no doubts about your veracity, it is a matter of justice being seen to be done.'

Tonks felt the air draw taut about her as this further insult was registered and resented by every Auror present. 'I am an Auror . . .'

'And I am Auror in Chief.' Umbridge cood. 'You needn't look so worried, Miss Tonks. This isn't about you.'

'Veritaserum . . .' began Tonks.

Oh,' said Umbridge and smiled sweetly. 'If Veritaserum were not quite safe, would it have been authorised by the Ministry of Magic?'

'Yes,' said Tonks but her reply went unheard.

'My daughter has been warned to take nothing that has not been directly authorised by Saint Mungo's!'

Tonks twisted around towards the public benches where Andromeda was standing in the front row. Generally last in, somehow the former Miss Black almost invariably found herself right at the front of the queue. Tonks wondered how her mother managed that.

'When properly brewed, Veritaserum is quite safe,' soothed Umbridge. 'Ours is brewed for us by our own experts. It is recognised . . .'

'It's recognised that, unlike bloody china, minds benefit from being used,' spat Andromeda. 'Try it some time.'

'SILENCE!' Umbridge took a deep breath and attempted to collect herself.

Andromeda sat down. 'Can you really have got stupider since you left school?' she enquired.

'One more word and I'll be forced to . . .' Andromeda assumed an expression of tragic dignity just before the camera flashed. 'Administer the Veritaserum,' said Umbridge's with a distinct shake to her voice.

Smethwyck said: 'I don't think I can be responsible if . . .'

'ADMINISTER THE VERITASERUM!'

Tonks turned as the healer approached.

Looking extremely dubious, Smethwyck offered Tonks a glass. 'This is against my own recommendations.' Tonks could see Gates and Styles, up in the corner of the benches, looking unhappy. Immediately behind them was Shacklebolt, watching Umbridge with an expression that Tonks couldn't quite interpret.

Tonks accepted the glass. There were ways around Veritaserum if the questioner were the least bit imprecise; and Tonks thought she knew Umbridge. She swirled the fluid. 'I think it only fair to say that I . . .' Tonks stared at the ground, 'do not accept the implications of Madam Umbridge's . . . request.' She drained the potion and waited. When her surroundings remained static she concluded that at least this batch had been properly aged.

'Ah yes,' said Umbridge. 'During the interrogation of the Death Eaters that we captured last week, certain information came to light. Professor Snape was arrested because he had been accused of feeding a love potion to an Auror, was he not?'

'Yes,' said Tonks. There was no ambiguity and no way round the question.

'He was accused of feeding a love potion to you, in fact?'

'Yes.'

'Well,' said Madam Umbridge. 'Shall we take it as fact that you also believe that you owed Snape your life?'

Again, Tonks reply went unheard. 'We saw Goyle's memory. That's not in question,' said Scrimgour.

Tonks fought not to cringe. With perfect clarity, she could imagine the next issue of the prophet: the full front page picture of her dragon self spewing like some animated fountain; bits of dead hen bouncing dramatically out of frame.

'Indeed,' said Umbridge. 'Do you, Nymphadora Tonks, hold the Ministry of Magic responsible for Professor Snape's death?'

'No,' said Tonks. (After all, he wasn't dead).

For a moment, Umbridge looked disappointed. 'And yet Mr. Potter does,' she mused. 'Well. Whatever Mr. Potter may have done for us in the past, it has to be said that there have always been those niggling little questions regarding his mental health. Poor boy, even when he was at school he was . . .'

Tonks shut her out remembering the words "I must not tell lies", cut into Potter's hand and who was responsible for that.

'Mr. Potter is a deluded and very dangerous young man,' continued Umbridge. 'Given that his strange state of mind in no way impairs his unquestioned magical abilities, surely we can aggree that it would be safer for everyone if he were not to remain amongst us.' Umbridge gazed pityingly at Potter. 'However, in recognition of his part in bringing down 'You-Know-Who, perhaps some sort of financial provision could be made. . .'

Auror in Chief thought Tonks. No proper Auror, no effective interrogator, would have left such an opening; and in Tonks' potioned mind, it was entirely clear that Umbridge had perverted justice before. She stared at Potter's accuser. 'I blame you,' she said.